A creditor levied on my New Jersey bank account; is it safe to deposit money now?

You get a letter or a call from your bank telling you that a creditor has levied on your account. The funds are frozen. Not only will checks bounce if they have not already cleared, but what will happen if you put more money into the account? What if you have direct deposit for your paycheck, and you are getting paid tomorrow? Will that money be frozen too?

Well, the answer is, it depends. The amount of a bank levy is not the amount of money that happens to be in the account when the court officer shows up; it is the amount on the writ of execution he is holding in his hand.

When It's Safe

So let's say a creditor gets a judgment against you for $5,000. By the time it pays the fees and costs for the levy and gets a writ of execution to do it, the balance is $5,500.

If you had $6,000 in the account at the time of the levy, then only $5,500 is frozen, and the remaining $500 is available for withdrawal. You could safely put more money in.

When It Isn't

The problem comes in when there is only $3,000 in the account. If your $1,500 paycheck hits the bank after the levy, that too will be frozen, bringing the levied funds to $4,500 on a $5,500 levy.

Therefore it is very important that you find out from the bank two things:

the account balance at the time of the levy; and

the total amount on the writ.

This will tell you if it is safe to deposit more money into the account.

So What Do I Do?

Just because your bank account has been levied does not mean that the creditor can keep all of the money. You may have defenses that could be raised before a judge that would prevent them from taking some, or all, of the money. Check out my free NJ Bank Levy Survival Kit to learn more!

If you live in southern New Jersey and have had your bank account levied, and you are looking for representation to object to the levy or negotiate a deal with the creditor, please feel free to call my office at 856-432-4113 or contact me through this site to schedule an appointment in my Woodbury office. The sooner you take care of it the better!

Contact Me

Richardson Law Offices

40 Newton Avenue

Woodbury, NJ 08096

Phone: (856) 686-9910

Fax: (856) 686-9911

Toll Free: (856) 686-9910

I hope you find my web site useful and informative, and that it answers your questions. However, you should know that this site's content is no substitute for a consultation with an attorney. Each person's case is different, and the pages on this site are designed specifically to provide general answers on New Jersey law and bankruptcy filings in New Jersey (and not for any matters outside New Jersey). For that reason, this site cannot serve as legal advice on your particular case, nor should you assume the existence of an attorney-client relationship either by reading its pages or contacting me initially by e-mail. I encourage you to contact me and schedule an appointment to come in. Let me give you a legal opinion based on your case that will help you specifically.